India Should Get Tibetan Buddhist treasures: Dalai Lama

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama today described himself as a "son of
India" whose moral duty was to "hand over" ageless treasures of Buddhism,
which are kept in Tibet, to India.

Noting that India has had a profound impact on him and has given him freedom
and immense opportunities, he said "while in abroad, I introduce myself as a
messenger of India."

"I am a son of India and my knowledge came from India," he said at an
international seminar here on Buddhist heritage.

The Dalai Lama said as a 'chela' of India, it was "our moral responsibility
to hand over all those ageless treasures that lasted nearly thousand years
and are kept in Tibet to hand them over to our guru" (India).

He appealed for promotion of non violence in the country and upholding its
secular character and India must promote 'ahimsa' and religious tolerance.

"India is the only country where all religions exist harmoniously. I call
upon my guru to play an important role in promotion of non-violence," the
spiritual leader said with folded hands looking at the speakers at the
podium who included Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

He said India has a culture of non-violence which was being widely sought
for in the 21st century.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said greed and self-interest are coming in the
way from making the world a better place to live in and global recession and
partial success of the Copenhagen climate change summit were because of
these factors.

"Many people had hoped much from the Copenhagen summit but the top priority
(for the leaders) was national interest rather than global interest," he
said.

Modi said said his government was planning to construct a Buddhist temple in
the state, about which he had a discussion with the Dalai Lama.

"It is my dream to build a big Buddhist temple in Gujarat. It will not just
be a place of worship but will also be a centre for research on Buddhist
philosophy and psychology with a special focus on the science of mind. It
will explore the similarity and differences between eastern and western
science of mind," he said.

The three-day seminar is being attended by Buddhist scholars from India and
abroad.

An exhibition capturing the history of Buddhism in Gujarat is also being
organized.